The Big Camping Show in Quartzsite

Today we drove to Quartzsite to attend what is billed as the biggest camping/vacation expo in the USA.  I dunno.  I lived in Las Vegas for 8 years and would go to the Cashman Center for various craft or health shows.  It gets my mom and I exercise while also getting the chance to look at people's exhibits. This RV show was a lot like the Cashman Center shows.  About the same size.  I have a tough time believing this is the largest...but it was pretty big.

What we most wanted to see was RVs.  After my accident where I hit a post with my trailer, and then the subsequent pain in the ass I had to deal with due to my inability to be able to back in to a space, we've been really thinking about getting a Class C.

I'm glad we didn't jump on early ones we saw because in addition to the towing/backing up issues I'm having another problem we need remedied.  I a quiet place to work.  It's tough to write smutty romance at the dinette with my mom across from me.  I also sick of dealing with our cat Precious harassing me for treats when I'm right in the middle of my flow.  My mother also wants to watch TV and talk loudly on speaker phone without disturbing my sleep.

We need a room where we can close a door.  Where I can go during the day to do my work, and where my mom can go to sleep or to watch TV or take phone calls.

This is our ideal solution.  I mean--look at that desk!  http://www.campingworld.com/rvsales/class-c/2006/gulfstream-endura/493344/

We're open to other options also, like a Class A with a rear bed *and* a toy hauler garage with another bed.  Just give me a door I can close and I'll be happy.

Well, there weren't many class Cs to look at during the show.  We avoided a whole clump of RVs we park neared because an obnoxious high-pressure salesman we'd had the misfortune of dealing with last time in Quartzsite was guarding them.  We went through a bunch of others, but just can't find our floor plan.  We also can't spend a hugetastic fortune.  Price is definitely why we haven't pulled the trigger thus far.

I still owe $22k on our current rig, and that's more than it's worth.  It's sad, but we have to trade this in if we want to a new one and it's going to cause salesmen to screw us.  They will just charge us the price of their rig PLUS what we owe, without giving us credit for the trade-in.  Every dealer pulls this crap.  It's like we pay for two RVs but only own one.

Anyhow, we still wanted to look to think about options and decide what to save up for in the future.  there were Class As, Class As, Class As....bleh.  Finally we just went into the expo and walked around the booths.

Now, here's the interesting thing.  A lot of booths were companies set up just because they were looking for workampers.  These are RVers who live on the site in their RVs with free hook-ups and work for them.  Amazon.com has workampers in all their distribution centers.  They were there looking for employees as well as the Sugar Beet Harvest (starting pay $12.70/hour, and you're sorting at a receiving station, not picking beets) and Yosemite National Park (minimum wage and no free camping).

I foolishly signed up to be considered for the beet harvest, because I'm a crazy idiot who likes to do crazy things for money.  I've done some research and know I would never be able to handle this job.  Hopefully no one will call.

What I do want, however, is to be a workamper at a park, working 20 hours a week in exchange for an RV space.  I really should start looking into that again.

Also...if anyone's interested...here is the novel I wrote in January:

Thinking About Workamping

Eight days until launch!  And I'm already getting some crazy ideas...like getting a job!

I have been self-employed since 1999.

But part of the reason I want to get on the road is to meet people and have fun experiences in awesome places.  A nice workamping gig might just get me what I'm looking for.  It would also give us a stable place to park the RV for the summer. 

I'm thinking really hard about this prospect.  If I want to find work for the summer season I need to land a gig now.  However, I'm a woman of my word and I don't want to find myself in an unpleasant situation.  I'm the type who will tough it out for as long as I signed up for. 

I posted the following on two workamping sites that let people post 'work wanted' classifieds:

Milly and Maria    (Two Workers)
Position Wanted:   Desk, Housekeeping, or Waitstaff, and Something Light for Mom
Location Desired:   CA, OR, WA, ID, CO, WY, MT, UT, ND, SD, NE
Availability:   May 11th, 2015
Compensation Needed:   RV Space and the rest is negotiable

About us:
Hi! I'm Milly, I travel full-time in a 31' Travel Trailer with my 66 year old mother and two cats. My mother Maria is bilingual (Spanish/English) incredibly cheery, happy, kind, and has the type of personality people fall in love with. However, she's mobility impaired and uses a cane. I'm trying to find a position for her where she won't have to be on her feet all day, or doing anything too strenuous. She'd be a great laundry-room attendant or possibly a hostess.

If you can find a position suitable for my mother you get me included in the package! I'm able-bodied, also cheerful, and have a great attitude! I've been self-employed with online businesses for the last 16 years, but prior to that I worked as a waitress, a hotel housekeeper, a janitor, and I'm equally good for data-entry, clerk, or front of house jobs.

I am detail-oriented, meaning if I walk buy a trash can with the trash bag looking loose and messy I will go and fix it (even if no one is looking). I don't have an iPhone or any other device that I'm going to be stealing minutes from the job to check. I also can turn into that super-sweet Disney employee like my mom to make sure guests have the best experience possible. If someone is unhappy about something I'm going to be sympathetic and kind to resolve their issue. I'm not too proud to turn messy toilets into sparkling commodes of beauty, and I can make-up a hotel bed with military precision! You might want to utilize me more for front of house type stuff, because I will make guests happy and be a great addition to any dedicated team.

We need work for both of us where we can park our RV. We are set-up for Dry Camping, so we don't need hook-ups as long as a dump station is available. However, if your summer is hot we need electricity to run our AC! We would like a meal option if possible. Pay would be nice. We would also prefer not to work more than 24 hours per week.

Rig Description:
2015 31' Travel Trailer with Slide and Nissan Armada

Skills:
I type 60 words per minute and have great computer skills (Word, Excel, HTML, and more). I can also clean hotel rooms, interact with the public, learn reservation and phone systems, wait tables, and provide awesome customer service.

My mom can work at a visitor information center, be a laundry room attendant, or do other light jobs. Her cheery personality brightens any room.

Experience:
I've been self-employeed for the last 16 years, but prior to that: I worked the register at a college book store and managed my own branch of that book store. I was a chambermaid at a Days Inn for 5 years. I was a waitress at a family restaurant for 3 years. I was a Technical Writer a semiconductor company for two years. I currently make my living as a romance novelist.

My mother has been retired for 11 years but was previously a medical records coder for 37 years.

Smoker?   No
Drinker?   No
Pets?   Yes
Kids?   No




So that's the listing I put out.  I'm not sure if anyone looks at those listings, but who knows.  I guess if I really want a job I need to put out some inquiries.

The most important compensation for me is an RV space.  I want full hook-ups, but I can get by with just a dump station as long as I don't have to run the AC.  This is part of the reason I'm targeting northern states. 

My ideal situation is to do some work in exchange for getting to stay at an awesome place that I would never fork over the money to stay at normally.  Like Morro Bay or Pismo Beach or something.  I'd work 24 hours a week for a site in a kick-ass coastal park.  I'm looking at other options too, though.  We'll see!

If you're an experienced Workamper I'd love to hear from you.  I seriously have no idea what a Camp Host really does.  I don't actually want to be cleaning toilets...